Pollsters Rank BYU 16th, 20th
PROVO -- The BYU softball team is ranked No. 16 in the USA Today/NFCA and No. 20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason polls announced Tuesday.
The Cougars, ranked a program-best No. 15 in the final polls last season, won its second-straight Mountain West Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional in 2010. BYU returns seven starters and 11 letterwinners overall to the 2011 campaign after going 46-13 last year, the most wins in program history.
BYU, never a stranger to a strong schedule, will face nine teams ranked in the preseason polls this season, including No. 1/2 UCLA, No. 4/7 Tennessee, No. 8/13 Hawaii, No. 12/12 California, No. 14/14 Oregon, No. 20/18 Stanford, No. 21/19 Texas A&M, No. 22/24 Ohio State and No. RV/23 Florida State.
Other 2011 opponents receiving votes in the polls include Fresno State, Nebraska, Texas Tech and MWC foe San Diego State.
Opening the season Thursday, Feb. 10, at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., BYU will play No. 14/14 Oregon, Texas Tech, Portland State, Ole Miss and No. 21/19 Texas A&M over the course of the weekend.
2011 NFCA/USA Today Softball Preseason PollRank,School (1st Votes) ’10 Rec. Pts. Prev.
1. UCLA (27) 50-11 738 1
2. Arizona (3) 52-14 715 2
3. Georgia 50-13 669 3
4. Tennessee 49-15 645 4
5. Florida 49-10 607 6
6. Alabama 52-11 588 9
7. Missouri 51-13 564 8
8. Hawai’i 50-16 500 7
9. Oklahoma 47-12 488 11
10. Washington 50-9 475 5
11. Michigan 49-8 445 10
12. California 44-19 413 13
13. Arizona State 44-17 403 12
14. Oregon 36-21 387 14
15. Texas 43-15 286 18
16. BYU 46-13 269 15
17. Louisiana-Lafayette 45-18 248 16
18. Georgia Tech 51-11 231 17
19. LSU 45-16 219 19
20. Stanford 37-19 209 21
21. Texas A&M 44-16 170 20
22. Ohio State 39-14 100 22
23. Oklahoma State 44-16 83 23
24. Illinois 45-8 69 25
25. North Carolina 42-20 51 24
Others Receiving Votes: Fresno St. 31, Hofstra 29, Florida St. 22, Fordham 13, DePaul 12, Nebraska 9, Lipscomb 8, Radford 7, Florida International 7, Kentucky 7, Louisville 6, Notre Dame 6, Texas Tech 4, East Carolina 4, Massachusetts 3, Auburn 3, San Diego St. 1, Long Island 1, Illinois St. 1, Northwestern 1.
2011 ESPN/USA Softball Preseason Poll
Rank, School (1st Votes) ’10 Rec. Pts. Prev.
1. Arizona (9) 52-14 488 2
2. UCLA (10) 50-11 462 1
3. Alabama (1) 52-11 420 8
4. Georgia 50-13 405 4
5. Florida 49-10 389 6
6. Oklahoma 47-12 382 10
7. Tennessee 49-15 367 3
8. Michigan 49-8 353 11
9. Missouri 51-13 340 9
10. Arizona State 44-17 309 13
11. Washington 50-9 299 5
12. California 44-19 266 12
13. Hawai’i 50-16 252 7
14. Oregon 36-21 229 14
15. Texas 43-15 217 19
16. LSU 45-16 208 18
17. Georgia Tech 51-11 179 16
18. Stanford 37-19 165 T24
19. Texas A&M 44-16 121 22
20. BYU 46-13 96 15
21. Louisiana-Lafayette 45-18 80 17
22. Oklahoma State 44-16 71 23
23. Florida State 44-18 61 RV
24. Illinois 45-8 56 21
24. Ohio State 39-14 56 T24
Others Receiving Votes: Fordham 41, San Diego State 30, Massachusetts 29, Notre Dame 22, North Carolina 13, Northwestern 11, Oregon State 11, DePaul 10, Fresno State 9, Hofstra 9, Kentucky 8, Louisville 8, Lipscomb 7, Radford 7, Florida International 5, Texas Tech 4, East Carolina 2, Syracuse 2, Maryland 1.
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